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THE THREE WISHES
A Spanish Fairy Tale
One winter’s night many years ago, an old man, named Pedro,
and his wife, Joanna, sat by their cozy fire,talking to one another,
in a little old village in Spain. Now Pedro was comfortably well
off in the goods of this world> but instead of giving thanks to
God for the benefits they enjoyed, he and his wife spent all their
time in wishing for the good things possessed by their neighbors.
“Bah!” cried Pedro. “This wretched little hut of ours is
only fit to house a donkey! Would that we owned the fine house
and farm of our neighbor, Diego!”
“Aye! Diego’s house and farm are well enough and better
than ours by far,” answered Joanna. “Still I could wish to have
such a mansion as the grandees possess — such a one as that of
Don Juan de la Rosa.”
” Then there’s that old donkey of ours,” went on Pedro sullenly.
“Good for nothing — nothing at all. He cannot carry so much
as an empty sack. How I should like to have for my own
Diego’s strong Andalusian mule!”
“O aye! Diego’s mule is better than our donkey,” said
Joanna. “Yet, for me, I should Uke a fine white horse with
trappings of scarlet and gold, like the one that bears Donna Isa-
bella. It is strange how some people have only to wish for a
thing in order to get it. I have never been in such luck. Would
that we had only to speak to have our wishes come true!”
Scarcely were the words out of Joanna’s mouth when lo!
on the hearth before the old couple appeared a beautiful little
lady. She was not more than eighteen inches high and her
garments, that drifted lightly back and forth, were white and
filmy and full of opal tints as though made of smoke, while a
veil of the same airy stuff floated down from a crown of glowing
sparks on her head. In her hand she bore a little golden wand,
on the end of which was a single spark that glowed like a ruby.
“I am the Fairy Fortunata” said she from the midst of the
rosy flames. “I have heard your complaints and am come to
give you what you desire. Three wishes you shall have, — one
for you, Joanna, — one for you, Pedro, — and the third you shall
agree upon between you and I will grant it in person when I
return at this time tomorrow.”
So saying, the Fairy Fortunata sprang through the flames
and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Ah! but the old couple
were delighted. Three wishes! Three wishes to come true!
They began to think at once of what they most desired in all
the world. Wishes came swarming to them as thick as bees to
a hive. The old man would be content with such prosperity
as his neighbor, the farmer Diego, enjoyed, but the old woman
— ah! her desires flew high — a palace with domes and spires
and cupolas, and floors tiled with sapphire, and walls and ceil-
ings done with arabesques of crimson, blue and gold; colonnaded
courtyards with fountains playing in the centre, and gardens
and servants and what not besides! Well, so many were the
desires that came crowding to
the old couple, that they could
not agree off-hand on just which
three to wish for. So they
determined to put off their de-
cision until the next day and
began talking of different things
altogether. In a little while
their conversation began to drift,
as usual, to their wealthier
neighbors whom they were for-
ever envying.
“I dropped in at Diego’s house this morning” said Pedro,
“and they were making black puddings there in the kitchen.
Um! but they smelled good — those puddings! Diego can buy
the best of raisins and everything else. He does not have to
put up with such poor stuff as we have to eat!”
“True! True!” said Joanna. “I wish I had one of Diego’s
puddings here this minute to roast on the ashes for supper!”
The words were not out of Joanna’s mouth when there
appeared on the ashes before her the most delicious black
pudding that could possibly be imagined! The woman’s eyes
nearly started out of her head! But Pedro jumped up in a rage.
“You greedy creature!” he cried. “Through your gluttony
you have used up one of our precious wishes! Good heavens,
to wish for nothing more than a poor little pudding! It makes
me wild! You’re more stupid than a goose, and I wish the pud-
ding were stuck fast to your nose!”
At that — whisk! there flew the black pudding and hung from
the very place he had indicated. Then was the old man struck
with horror, for shake her head as she might, Joanna could no
more shake off the pudding than she could shake off her nose!
“See what you have done, evil tongue!” she wailed. “If
I employed my wish badly, at least it injured no one but myself,
but you — you — see how you have made use of your wish!”
Thereupon, the dog and cat, having sniffed the savory pud-
ding, came leaping up and began springing and pawing, in hopes
to get one little lick of that luscious morsel that was now become
Dame Joanna’s nose!
“Down! Down!” shrieked Joanna, as she wildly defended
the part attacked. “I shall agree to nothing else for our third
wish than that this miserable pudding be taken off my nose!”
“Wife, for heaven’s sake!” cried Pedro, “don’t ask that!
What of the new farm I wanted?”
“I will never agree to wish for it!”
“But listen to reason! Think of the palace you desired,
with domes and spires and cupolas, and floors tiled with sapphire,
and walls and ceilings in arabesques of crimson, blue and gold!”
“It does not matter!”
“O my dear! let us wish at least for a fortune, and then you
shall have a golden case set with all the jewels you please, to
cover the pudding on your nose!”
“I will not hear of it!”
“Then, alas and alack, we shall be left just as we were before!”
“That is all I desire! I see now we were well enough off as
we were!”
And for all that the man could say, nothing could alter his
wife’s determination. So at last they agreed, and when on the
following night the Fairy rose from the flames and bade them
tell her their third wish, they made answer:
“We wish only to be as we were before.”
So that was the wish she granted.
